Richard Castle's Guide to Escaping Dinner Parties
by DinerGuy
Summary: It wasn't as glamorous as he'd imagined ... Not that Castle had ever imagined being knocked overboard to begin with.


_Disclaimer: I own nothing Castle, mean no infringement, and am making no profit off of this story (other than awesome thoughts at the image of wet!Castle ...)._

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It wasn't as glamorous as he'd imagined.

Not that Richard Castle had ever imagined being knocked overboard to begin with. If he had, though, he would have made things more exciting. Most likely the scene would have included him being thrown over the railing while trying to apprehend a dangerous criminal or while saving a beautiful woman.

He definitely would not have chosen the scenario where he was at a publicity appearance aboard a dinner boat, minding his own business, when a fleeing suspect rounded the corner and knocked him into the dark water below.

It had started out as a perfectly normal evening. His publicity agent had lined up the whole gig to celebrate the release of the newest Nikki Heat novel and raise funds for charity at the same time. It was just going to be a simple dinner where he'd sign a few dozen autographs, say a few words, sign some more autographs, eat, drink, socialize, and sign even more autographs. His agent had even agreed to send complimentary tickets to Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan.

That was where things took a turn towards the cold, dark water in which Castle currently found himself.

Apparently one of the waiters on the ship had had a run in with the police a couple of weeks before – emphasis on the run part. Esposito and Ryan had attempted to bring him in for questioning, but the man had fled. During dinner, the man caught sight of two of the guests at one of the tables on the ship at the same time Ryan looked his way. When the waiter realized that Ryan had recognized him, he bolted in the opposite direction.

Castle was returning from a trip to the men's room, making good use of the excuse to clear his head, when the chase headed his way. He had paused to admire the way the moonlight shimmered on the water when the waiter rounded the corner at high speed.

It felt like a truck had hit him; the air left his lungs in one _whoosh_ as the other man collided with him. He may have blacked out for a moment, but things cleared up quite quickly when he hit the water.

The cold liquid closed over his head and he kicked frantically to get back to the surface where there was breathable air. His eyes were burning, as were his nose and throat, and he was shivering from the chill that was soaking into his body. He finally broke the surface, coughing and spluttering.

Looking up at the deck of the boat, Castle searched for a face at the railing. Surely someone had heard the splash. If nothing else, he supposed his agent would come looking for him if he didn't show up for his speech on time.

Although … it wouldn't hurt to help things along. Most of the guests were on the other side of the ship, but perhaps someone would hear him. His stomach was aching from where the other man had collided with him, and he was getting a little tired of the whole treading water thing.

"Man overboard!" he shouted, pausing to listen for any indication that he had been heard. When he failed to hear any pounding footsteps or answering shouts, he tried again. "Man overboard!" Another thirty seconds passed and still no one appeared.

By this point, Castle was shivering. He had objected that a dinner boat was an odd place to make an appearance in March, but his agent had convinced him it would be a smart publicity move, so he had agreed. Now he was starting to second guess the idea.

"Um, help?" he shouted. If he had to stay here any longer, he might as well just strike out for the shore. At this rate, he'd get there before someone showed up at the railing to help him out.

"Castle, you all right?"

"Ah, Beckett!" he greeted, attempting to put as much cool into the words as possible. "I seem to have gotten knocked overboard."

"So I see," she replied, trying unsuccessfully to hide her smile. "Is this a publicity stunt, or should I help you out?"

"Uh, no, actually. As much as this might look like one, I did not plan this. Though I wouldn't put it past my agent to have set the whole thing up … Either way, can you, uh, can you help me out here?" he asked, looking up at her hopefully.

"I guess so," she chuckled. "Wait just a minute." She disappeared over the railing.

He glanced around him at the dark water lapping against the side of the boat and shrugged. "Not like I'm going anywhere," he quipped.

A few moments later, a ladder appeared over the side of the boat, and a man's voice called down to him. "Can you climb up, sir?"

"Yeah, yeah; I got it," Castle responded, paddling towards the ladder. He reached out a hand and grabbed hold of the bottom rung, then pulled himself up.

When he reached the top, he found Beckett standing beside a crew member holding a towel. The man extended the white cloth to Castle as Beckett raised an eyebrow at him.

"Just how did you manage to get yourself overboard, Castle?"

"Hey, I'll have you know it was not my fault," he objected, attempting to dry himself off as much as he could. "I was minding my own business when some loony came speeding around the corner and knocked me off balance."

By this time, the reason for the star guest's absence had apparently reached the dining room, and a small crowd was starting to appear at one end of the hallway. Castle wrapped the towel around his shoulders as his mother and Alexis hurried up to where he stood by the railing.

"Dad, are you all right?" Alexis asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"Nothing much; I'm fine," Castle assured her.

Martha wore a concerned look as well, but her expression also carried what looked like shock as well. "Richard, darling, what were you thinking? You can't possibly give a speech now, not in those wet clothes."

"Thank you, Mother, I'm fine." Castle grinned at her. "I was starting to get a little hot in there with all those people anyway."


End file.
